@article{3339ca6db4854943b32cf1c867421cee,
title = "Thermal storage mass in radiative cooling systems",
abstract = "An experiment was conducted to determine the role of the thermal storage mass and its location in a cooling system based on longwave nocturnal radiation. This parameter was found to be significant both for the amount of cooling power obtainable and for the internal temperatures of the cooled space.",
author = "Y. Etzion and E. Erell",
note = "Funding Information: NOCTURNAL radiative cooling of buildings has been studied extensively, particularly in the years following the energy crisis of the 1970s, when issues of energy conservation in buildings received considerable attention. The theoretical aspects of the subject were covered thoroughly by, among others, Clark and Berdahl \[1\]. Gordon and Zarmi \[2\]d escribed the transient behavior of an unutilized radiator, expressing the relationship between the stagnation temperature, the relaxation time and the effective temperature of the surroundings. Givoni \[3\r]e viewed the basic physics describing the phenomenon and evaluated a number of strategies proposed to utilize its potential. In fact a number of workable systems were developed and implemented on experimental buildings. The biggest success in the field was claimed by Hay \[4, 5\], developer of the {"}Skytherm{"} system. A number of versions of this design were constructed, in Las Cruces (N.M.), Phoenix (Ariz.) and Atascadero (Ca.). These buildings were monitored, and their interiors remained comfortable even under extreme ambient conditions. However, no data is given on the contribution of radiative cooling alone to the total thermal performance of the houses. The effectiveness of all radiative cooling systems may in fact be quite limited. This is because nocturnal longwave radiation from materials commonly found on the earth's surface is rarely more than 100 W m -2, under ideal meteorological conditions. By comparison, noon-time solar radiation levels in excess of 1000 W m -2 are common in many countries, and even solar heating systems installed in high-latitude countries can rely on solar radiation levels of several hundred watt/square metre for at least part of the day. Since the potential for radiative cooling of buildings is * The project was funded by the Israeli National Council for Research and Development (NCRD) and by the German Federal Ministry for Science and Technology (BMFT). t Desert Architecture Unit, The J. Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede-Boqer Campus, Israel.",
year = "1991",
month = jan,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/0360-1323(91)90065-J",
language = "English",
volume = "26",
pages = "389--394",
journal = "Building and Environment",
issn = "0360-1323",
publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",
number = "4",
}